This Spring, Tharwat Elkabani, a Graduate Research Assistant in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, was named one of seven Outstanding Graduates. This award recognizes Tharwat as an exceptional leader, and acknowledges his ability to make a positive impact on campus and in the world. He will be graduating with his Master’s Degree this May.
In Spring 2025, Tharwat was a recipient of the Tim Thompson Scholarship, recognizing his commitment to furthering research in engineering and his leadership skills. As an undergraduate, Tharwat was a recipient of the President’s Associates Excellence Scholarship, a premier award given to students who are committed to leadership development. He was also an NMSU Honors College Crimson Scholar and was on the College of Engineering Dean’s Honor List for his four years as an undergraduate. For his Capstone project, NMSU Engineering faculty awarded his team $3000 for the “Best Overall Design Award in Engineering.” The project was extremely successful, as his team was also selected to present at the Capstone Design Conference in Knoxville, Tennessee. The same team earned a 3rd place award at Los Alamos National Labs (LANL)’s “Environmentally Robust Roll Switch” design challenge. During Graduate & Professional Student Appreciation Week, the Dean of Graduate School awarded Tharwat a certificate which recognized his research efforts as a graduate student.
Not only has Tharwat made a mark on the NMSU campus itself, but especially in the Nonlinear Dynamics and Energy Harvesting Laboratory. He is a research assistant under Dr. Abdelkefi in the Environmental Testing of Structures (ETS), which is one of the biggest research groups in the MAE department. Tharwat is grateful to have been a part of the lab, and explains that their work “...primarily focuses on dynamical characterization of structures using vibration testing methods and non-contact Digital Image Correlation (DIC).” Along with laboratory research experience, Tharwat had the opportunity to intern with LANL as a research fellow in the Los Alamos Dynamic Summer School (LADSS) in 2023. Tharwat explains that this was “...a very beneficial opportunity which allowed [him] to make connections with people that set [him] up for [his] upcoming career with LANL.” Dr. Abdelkefi’s recommendation and Tharwat’s prior experience as a researcher helped him achieve these goals, and he is extremely appreciative.
Tharwat’s career goals involve utilizing the skills he has cultivated in engineering research to technologically advance humanity and to “…influence the betterment of people’s lives.” His specific plans after college are to pursue a career in Research & Development (R&D), specifically to work as a mechanical engineer for Los Alamos National Labs. He is set to work in “...the Product Realization and Reliability Office (PRRO) under the Pit Technologies (PT) division at LANL, improving plutonium pit production processes.”
Tharwat would like to shout out Dr. Abdessattar Abdelkefi, “...for his immense support, guidance, and mentorship. He has been my research advisor for the past 4 years and I am grateful for all the knowledge and skills he has bestowed upon me. His passion and dedication to research motivate me every day to become a better engineer.” He is also grateful for all of the faculty members in the MAE department, as their brilliance and talent in their fields has helped him (and others) as part of the next generation of scientists and engineers. Tharwat’s biggest takeaway from his time at NMSU is “...how important it is to make connections with people in your community, whether that be academically or socially.” He has benefitted greatly from doing so, earning internship and job opportunities. “I urge other students to make use of these available resources,” says Tharwat.
